Dallas Mavericks' Luka Doncic slammed on social media for getting Phoenix Suns fan ejected
Luka Doncic had 34 points, nine assists and eight rebounds in the Dallas Mavericks' 132-109 loss to the Phoenix Suns at American Airlines Center in Dallas on Wednesday night.
But all anyone wanted to talk about after the game was an incident he had with a Suns fan.
During the game, Doncic took offense to a fan in a Devin Booker jersey who heckled the Dallas star.
The Arizona Republic's Duane Rankin captured Doncic's reaction to a fan saying "Luka you tired, get on the treadmill," on video.
"Doncic stopped, stared at the guy, initially pointed him out during play and then did it again during a timeout," Rankin reported in his recap of the game. "An arena staff member talked to the fan, who left the arena on his own or was told to bounce."
What we learned: Booker cooks, Doncic gets heated, Suns stay composed in blitzing Mavericks
"LUKA YOU TIRED, GET ON THE TREADMILL!"
Luka Doncic reaction to fan incoming.
Luka Doncic has since pointed out the fan, who is being talked to by arena staff.
Kyrie Irving walked over and was looking at the fan, who just left.#Suns 100 #Mavs 78 after 3. pic.twitter.com/6npgrJhj6J— Duane Rankin (@DuaneRankin) January 25, 2024
ESPN's Tim MacMahon reported that Doncic asked security to remove the fan, who was sitting two rows behind the press row at midcourt.
Interestingly, Doncic and MacMahon had a back-and-forth exchange about the incident after the game, with Doncic explaining his side of the situation, saying that it wasn't just that one incident with the fan.
More: Devin Booker leads Phoenix Suns over Dallas Mavericks for 7th straight win
Luka Dončić and Tim MacMahon go back and forth about him tweeting about Luka asking for a fan to be ejected in the second half, after cursing at him the whole game.
Luka: “You’ll be the first one to always put something bad about me.” pic.twitter.com/eAIRbKyVkn— Landon Thomas (@sixfivelando) January 25, 2024
Still, some on social media blasted Luka Doncic for his reaction to the fan:
Luka is not the only player removing fans. These rabbit ears by players is crazy. We dealt with Robin Ficker in Washington, Leon the Barber in Detroit and a host of fans in Philly and Utah and not once asked for their removal. Stop! @NBA https://t.co/AweXBwS91V
— Eddie A Johnson (@Jumpshot8) January 25, 2024
Devin Booker would have been under fire if he had a fan ejected from last night's game.
That's all.— Trevor Booth (@TrevorMBooth) January 25, 2024
I really hate being the "If Devin Booker did this" guy...but I'm gonna be that guy for a sec, because if that's really all the fan said, if Devin Booker did this, he'd be the No. 1 trend on Twitter immediately https://t.co/p37oSes7YI
— Gerald Bourguet (@GeraldBourguet) January 25, 2024
I'm glad Luka was able to stop at least someone in a Suns jersey tonight https://t.co/j959sjYcXR
— sreekar (@sreekyshooter) January 25, 2024
This is so uncool I think we may need Luka to be suspended. https://t.co/NksIQnNAh7
— Andrew Sharp (@andrewsharp) January 25, 2024
I love Luka, but that’s weak. That dig is totally within the lines of tolerable fan behavior. Dude didn’t need to be ejected for THAT! https://t.co/Yigow05jnc
— David Weiner #🟦 (@BimaThug) January 25, 2024
Not everyone was against the Suns fan's ejection, however:
Fans thinking they have that privilege to say whatever they want at an NBA game to the players. https://t.co/gSqStgqVy4
— 𝐓𝐚𝐥𝐤𝐢𝐧' 𝐍𝐁𝐀 (@_Talkin_NBA) January 25, 2024
Suns players react to Luka Doncic fan situation:
Jusuf Nurkic shared his thoughts on the situation with Rankin after the game, saying "At the end of the day, the fan is a little bit wrong, but he shouldn't get kicked out."
"At the end of the day, the fan is a little bit wrong, but he shouldn't get kicked out."
Jusuf Nurkic as Luka Doncic responded to a fan heckling him in #Suns win at #Mavs.
Nurkic on Devin Booker's 46-point night with 22 coming in 3rd quarter:
"Ain't no Christmas game no more." pic.twitter.com/MYzbOemZNY— Duane Rankin (@DuaneRankin) January 25, 2024
Kevin Durant also talked to Rankin, saying "once it gets overboard, little disrespectful to the point you got to stop the game, that's different."
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Luka Doncic fan incident overshadows great performances by Devin Booker, Suns
In case you missed it, Devin Booker had 46 points in the Suns' win on 17-for-23 shooting from the field.
The Suns were down by as many as 17 in the first half, but built a 29-point lead in the fourth quarter.
But all anyone seems to want to talk about is Doncic's incident with the fan.
Was it the right call for the Suns fan to be ejected from the game?
VOTE: Was it the right call for a #Suns fan to be ejected for heckling the #Mavericks' Luka Doncic? #ComingInHot #MFFL (Details: https://t.co/XKYMJUzHL2)
— Jeremy Cluff (@Jeremy_Cluff) January 25, 2024
More: Phoenix Suns did well trading Deandre Ayton when they did
Reach Jeremy Cluff at jeremy.cluff@arizonarepublic.com. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter @Jeremy_Cluff.
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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Mavericks' Luka Doncic slammed for Suns fan's ejection: 'So uncool'
